Grapevine: News from the Parish

Our vision is to be church at the heart of our community

13th January 2021

Dear Friends,

"The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?".

(Psalm 27: 1)

Hello everyone! We hope you’ve managed to have a good week.

We expect that many of you will have had your second vaccination by now, and that you are well on your way to being fully protected from the Covid-19 virus. For those of you still waiting for your first vaccination, please try to be patient – your turn will soon come.

Meanwhile, we can’t afford to let our guard down. The virus is still out there and still dangerous, and it may be that the Government has to introduce stricter lockdown measures as deaths are at such a tragic level and our health system is under such pressure. Please pray for our dedicated health workers, and for those anxiously waiting to hear when they will receive their vaccines - and remember - if you need prayer or help, please call us.

Please pray too for the next President of the USA, Joe Biden, who will be inaugurated next Wednesday 20th January. He will take charge of a divided nation, with many still intent on fuelling the fire of that division. Please pray that God will work through him to bring healing (from Covid-19 and from mistrust, fear and hatred) to that troubled nation.

With our love and prayers
from everyone at St Paul's, St Peter's & St Mary's

GOSPEL READING FOR THE WEEK
Mark 1: 4-11 - The baptism of Jesus

And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptised by him in the Jordan River. John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And this was his message:

“After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptise you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptised by John in the Jordan. Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven:

“You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

Thought for the Week

Can you remember your baptism (Christening)? Most of us were probably too young, and we probably had no choice in the matter either, other than a wriggle or a scream as the strange man in the stranger clothes poured water over our heads.

Although baptism marks the beginning of our public journey of faith as followers of Jesus, it is our personal journey of faith that is most important to God. Spending time with God throughout our day, giving thanks for the good things or sharing our problems with him in little conversations some people call prayer, keeps us close to God. No special language is needed – just honesty and openness.

Each of us is a work in progress. None of us is perfect. We’ve all made mistakes (what the Bible calls ‘sin’) and we will continue to make mistakes – that’s part of being human. We all carry baggage with us and some of us find it very heavy. That’s basically what 'Repentance' is about – feeling the burden of those things we are carrying from our past, be it from 5 minutes or 70 years ago. Confession is bringing those things to God, and Forgiveness is God taking those burdens from us.

Some people mistakenly think they can’t come to Jesus until they are ‘good enough’. The problem is, we can never make ourselves good enough, only God can do that. Jesus invites us to come to him just as we are, warts and all, and he makes us good enough.
And when we do come to him, God our Father looks at us and says,
“You are my child whom I love. With you I am well pleased.”
What a wonderful assurance that is, that God loves us as his children!

How are you progressing on your journey? (That’s not a test – just a question.) Are you finding it difficult? Or easy? What is making it so? Speak to Jesus about it. Let him help you.

Prayers for the Week
In your prayers this week, please include the following:

For the lonely and the anxious.
For children, parents & teachers coping with online learning.
For our health services as they continue to administer the Covid-19 vaccine and manage other health needs.
For God's healing on all those in pain and suffering.
For those grieving the loss of loved ones.
For wisdom for our Government.
For the USA transitioning to a new Government under Joe Biden.
For the poor nations of the world, now suffering from Covid-19 as well as poverty.

Helpful Telephone Numbers

The Parish
Revd John Cook, Vicar - 0118 940 2202
Revd Hugh Barne, Curate - 07515 488542
Revd Steve Turville, Curate - 0118 901 6720
Lucy and Rosalyn in the Parish Office* - 0118 940 2300
(* Open Wednesday & Thursday: 10am - 1pm during January.
Answerphone monitored regularly outside office hours)

Diocese of Oxford Sunday Service - 01865 920930
Dial 01865 920930 and once connected, dial 0 for the full version of the service, or dial 1 for a short version. Standard call rates apply.
There will be a brief silence before the service starts.

Church of England DAILY HOPE - 0800 804 8044
The phoneline – available 24 hours a day – has been set up particularly for
those unable to join online church services.

One Front Door: Citizens Advice
0300 330 1189 (Wokingham Residents) 0300 330 1189 (RBWM Residents)
Are you needing more support during this pandemic? One Front Door is here to help you; from collecting prescriptions and connecting you with someone to talk to; to delivering food and other essentials.
For residents of Windsor and Maidenhead, please call and leave a message. An advisor will call you back within 2 working days.